Federal · Statewide General Election
United States Representative, District 50
Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.
This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.
On the ballot
- Steve Cohen — Republican
- Scott Peters — Democratic
This person holds your district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2-year term).
Representative Scott Peters took 48.1% of the June 2 vote — short of a majority — and Republican Steve Cohen took 39.8%, an 8.3-point gap. Cohen has reported no campaign funding at all. The district covers central and coastal San Diego.
The winner holds one of 435 seats in the U.S. House for a two-year term. A member introduces bills, sits on committees that shape federal legislation, votes on the federal budget and on war powers, and handles casework between constituents and federal agencies. Seniority governs committee standing, so a longer-serving member carries influence a newcomer cannot.
Two facts sit oddly together here. The incumbent has thirteen years of seniority and $1.81 million behind him, yet took under half the vote against an opponent who reported nothing. And his funding is the most committee-dependent of any member in this part of the ballot — $1,066,750 of $1.81 million. Weigh the record against both.
Scott Peters
Democrat, the sitting Representative for this district since 2013. He has sponsored 36 bills in the 119th Congress — among the higher counts in the delegation — and 2 of his career bills have become law. He raised $1,810,961, including $1,066,750 from PACs and committees against $335,980 from individuals.
Strengths
Thirteen years of seniority and a high current legislative workload at 36 bills sponsored.
Trade-offs
Roughly 59 cents of every dollar came from PACs and committees, well above the median member, and he took under 50% against an unfunded opponent.
Keep in mind
A sitting member falling short of a majority against a candidate with no reported money is a signal about this district worth carrying into November.
Steve Cohen
Republican, who took 39.8% of the June vote. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress. Federal filings show no contributions reported for his committee.
Strengths
He took nearly four in ten votes against a thirteen-year incumbent with no reported campaign funding at all.
Trade-offs
No money and no record in office leaves very little for a voter to evaluate beyond party.
Keep in mind
Coverage surfaced almost no biographical or platform detail about him. That gap is what was available to us on 2026-08-10, not a comment on his candidacy.
Record in office
Scott Peters (Democratic) has served in the U.S. House since 2013 and has sponsored 36 bills in the 119th Congress; 2 of their career bills have become law. Steve Cohen has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Per Congress.gov and the public-domain congress-legislators roster, retrieved 2026-08-10.
Record details
Peters — Committees: Energy and Commerce; Budget Peters — HR 3005 (2020): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13308 Midland Road in Poway, California, as the "Ray Chavez Post Office Building". Peters — HR 1378 (2014): To designate the United States Federal Judicial Center located at 333 West Broadway in San Diego, California, as the "John Rhoades Federal Judicial Center" and to designate the United States courthouse located at 333 West Broadway in San Diego, California, as the "James M. Carter and Judith N. Keep United States Courthouse". Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.
Financial info
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Self-funding
Scott Peters
$1,810,961 raised
- Individuals$335,98024%
- PACs & committees$1,066,75076%
- Self-funding$1,641<1%
1Steve Cohen has no fundraising on file with the FEC.
2Total raised is all receipts for the 2026 cycle; the breakdown lists direct contributions, so the pieces can sum below the total. Figures are FEC filings through June 30, 2026, per the FEC bulk campaign-finance summaries, retrieved 2026-08-22.
June 2 primary — how they advanced
Source review: Very strong (95/100) · 5 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary
- unitedstates.github.io (opens in a new tab)congress-legislators — current members of Congress (unitedstates project)
- api.congress.gov (opens in a new tab)Congress.gov — member sponsored legislation (Library of Congress)
- fec.gov (opens in a new tab)FEC — 2026 House & Senate current-campaign financial summaries (bulk data)
Last updated August 11, 2026.